S. Bhattacharjee et al., HYDROGENATION OF EPOXIDIZED NATURAL-RUBBER IN THE PRESENCE OF PALLADIUM ACETATE CATALYST, Polymer, 34(24), 1993, pp. 5168-5173
Epoxidized natural rubber has been selectively hydrogenated in the pre
sence of a homogeneous palladium acetate catalyst. The hydrogenated pr
oduct has been characterized by infra-red and nuclear magnetic resonan
ce spectroscopies. No change is noted in the epoxy content of the poly
mer after the reaction. The catalyst is highly selective in reducing c
arbon-carbon double bonds in the presence of epoxy groups. Natural rub
ber has also been hydrogenated for a comparative study. The rate const
ant of hydrogenation is decreased with increase in epoxy content of th
e polymer.